Senate Dems Plan to Force Vote on Trump’s Muslim Ban
Jordain Carney, The Hill, January 14, 2016
Senate Democrats are planning to try to force votes on some of Donald Trump’s most controversial campaign promises, including a ban on Muslims entering the country.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Senate Republicans should have to vote on the GOP presidential front-runner’s policies after they’ve refused to say they wouldn’t support Trump if he wins their party’s nomination.
“These votes will give all Senators a chance to take a stand on the policy issues dominating the public debate–and Republicans a chance to stand with the frontrunner for their nomination,” the Democratic leader said Thursday in a statement.
It’s unclear when Democrats will try to force the votes or what legislation they will use to advance the measures. {snip}
{snip}
Asked about Reid’s comments, McConnell warned that Republicans could also bring up amendments that would put Democrats in an awkward spot with their presidential candidates.
{snip}
Four Republicans–including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is also running for president–voted against a nonbinding proposal during a Judiciary Committee meeting late last year that would have specifically opposed a Trump-style ban that keeps a religious group from entering the country.
Phil Novack, Cruz’s spokesman, said at the time that the amendment, from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), boiled down to a “political stunt.”